Owen will soon be galloping to England's rescue

Betfacts / Editor / 03 October 2007 / Leave a comment Free £25 Bet

Betfair's top dog sniffs around the truth behind the latest tabloid tales.

Cruft's champion - Top stories that can dominate the news agenda
Pedigree chum - Insights that tell you something you don't know
Dog's dinner - Speculation, guesswork, or ideas that just don't come off.

Top Dog says:

The Champions League dominates the news agenda and after revealing first that John Terry would play in a mask, the Sun's Ian McGarry is ahead of the game again with the news that Andriy Shevchenko has been dropped by Avram Grant for tonight's clash in Valencia. All the papers report a warning from Rafa Benitez that Peter Crouch has to stop grumbling about rotation and just be ready to play when picked. Crouch is 3.4 to score against Marseille.

Cruft's:

Daily Star - Owen firing - The Star has found a mole at posh hotel Mottram Hall, near Manchester, who saw Michael Owen working with his specialist fitness coach. The training pitch at Mottram, used as a luxury base by many Premier League clubs, is right next to the golf course - making this story a hole in one from some eagle-eyed punter! Owen was doing 60 yard sprints three days after surgery. Good news if you still fancy backing him at 6.2 to be top English scorer in the Premier League.

Pedigree Chum:

The Sun/Daily Mirror/Daily Mail - Usmanov interviews - Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, the man who wants to buy Arsenal, has invited three top writers to Moscow for a charm offensive. He's trying to heal the rift between David Dein and the Arsenal board - but how long can Arsene Wenger keep the politics away from the dressing room?

The Sun - Hero to Beero - The Sun broke the story that John Terry would play in Valencia in a mask - now they've spotted Michael Ballack out on the town at the Munich Beer Festival spending his £120,000 a week wages. Terry's presence will help Chelsea, Ballack's absence won't harm them - and they are a tasty 3.75 to win in Valencia.

Daily Express - Sven's warning - Sven Goran Eriksson says Manchester City will get better, and we're all starting to take the former England boss more seriously. He reckons his 15 different nationalities just need to learn to speak English and they'll be buzzing. City currently with seven wins in 10 League and Cup games and 2.84 a top six finish.

Daily Mirror - QPR on Roed to calling for a hero - Chief Sports Writer Oliver Holt very rarely puts his by-line on a story in the Mirror's football spy column, so you'd better believe his sources are spot on when he claims Glenn Roeder will be interviewed today for the QPR job and has shot ahead of Gianluca Vialli in the running for it. Holt quotes Roeder's record as taking West Ham to finish seventh - Rangers fans will remember he also got them relegated and mucked up Newcastle! QPR are 4.4 to win at Colchester tonight in their first game since Gregory got sacked.

Dog' s dinner:

Daily Express - Robinson has to keep it together - Matt Law of the Express is surprisingly the only writer to highlight Paul Robinson's desperate performance for Spurs on Monday night. Martin Jol tells him Robinson will be fine for England next week. Wish we all felt so confident!

Today's other stories:

The Sun - Rooman Emperor - Vantasy football - Shut it Dein - Crouch told no more excuses - Championship match reports

Daily Express - Rooney turns on style - Gunners in driving seat - Cole warns Chelsea can't lose - No masking Grant's problems - Championship match reports - FA to ban abusive parents

Daily Star - Roo back in groove - Terry's a Halloween hero - Robin Van Per-fect - last night's match action - Spurs grit will save Jol vows Kaboul - Cole warns Chelsea - Last chance for Crouch

Daily Mirror - Wonder Wayne - Terry's mask of courage - Last night's matches - only five pages of football

Daily Mail - Roo beauty - Robin keeps Arsenal rocking - Usmanov fears Dein role in Arsenal dream - Grant's happy hour - Championship match reports - FA plan to protect refs